Making Waves

 It is reveal day for this quarter's Endeavourers Challenge, this time the theme for the Challenge was "The Sea".

 

I have called my piece "Making Waves", it is made with strips of upcycled denim for the waves with quilting cotton scraps for the island in the distance. 

 

 Over the years I have amassed a store of cast-off denim jeans that my sons either grew out of or decided were no longer their style, so I was delighted to have the perfect excuse to dig them out and start cutting into them. 

 

 This is the view from my sewing room window, so I didn't have to look very far for inspiration for this piece.I wanted to depict the sea on a windy, stormy day though, which is a fairer reflection of the usual conditions here on the West Coast of Scotland! 

This is the view today! 

I pinned the strips of denim and cotton to a cotton backing before stitching them down. 

Then placed the stitched piece on wadding and backing and machine quilted waves adding strips of lace and pieces of voile fabric between the strips of denim in places to represent the crest of the waves.

On the day that I started putting this piece together I noticed some movement out in the water, and when I went out to investigate I saw this little chap frolicking amidst the waves.

So, naturally I had to include him in my piece too!

I embroidered a stumpwork slip of a seal head, adding a bead for the eye and then attached the head to the denim background before stitching some beads for bubbles behind him. 

The hills on the island were defined with satin stitch and I added some French knots for sheep too.

Tucked away skimming the waves, almost out of sight, there is a windsurfer too, and can you believe that today, when even the ferry was not running, someone was daft/brave enough to be out windsurfing in that very spot! 

Of course, it wouldn't be right to make a seascape quilt without taking a photograph of it in front of that very seascape, so in between waves crashing over the seafront here is my brave assistant (OH) desperately holding on to my quilt! 

 

As ever with the Endeavourers Challenges the piece that I finally submit is very different to the piece that I originally envisaged making! I really enjoy these challenges even when, as with this one, I leave it all to the last minute :)

Find out my fellow Endeavourers projects for this quarter's challenge here. 

 

Feathers and Faded Grandeur

Have you tried anything out for the first time this month? If you have, you are in the right place to share your triumphs (or tribulations!) as another New to Me link party opens for submissions today.

My New to Me's in September are a bit of a mixed bag, but aren't they always :)

I used a New to Me "fabric" - cereal packet inner - to provide "crinkle" for my ribbon tag toy for the smaller gorgeous grandson.

I had a go at creating a hat for the bigger gorgeous grandson to go with the woodcutter's outfit I also made, but as you can see whilst it sort of fits it wasn't exactly what I had hoped for, so that one might have to be revisited!

A while ago I came across this tutorial from Pillar Box Blue for making denim feathers and finally found a chance to have a go this month.

The tutorial uses Jute twine for the spine of the feather and thanks to our trip to Dundee and the Verdant Works earlier in the year, I had the exact supplies needed on hand :) Another New to Me too, as this was the first time that I had used Jute twine, and as you can see I have enough twine to make a an entire pillow of denim feathers :)

I found the tutorial really easy to follow and as I have a whole stack of used denim waiting to be upcycled I am sure that I will be making more of these soon.

My final New to Me was my first visit to the once magnificent Chateau de la Mercerie above. The Chateau, which was originally a 19th Century hunting lodge, came into the possession of two bachelor brothers, Raymond and Alphonse Rethore, in 1925. The wealthy brothers then set about extending the original building, to the grand structure that you can see in the photos. According to the guides, however, the brothers were notorious for becoming bored with projects so many of the planned developments were never fully completed. The structure to the right of the terrace, for example, is just a facade, albeit a fairly spectacular one!

After their deaths in the 1980's the Chateau changed hands a couple of times and eventually fell into disrepair, whereupon the local Mayor negotiated a deal to lease the Chateau for a nominal sum for the local community. Work to restore the Chateau and grounds is now undertaken by volunteers, who have themselves become experts in the crafts that they employ to repair and restore the building and interiors.

 

 The tiled paintings above adorn the entrance hall and are apparently unique in France. They are up to 6m in height and were made in Portugal and then shipped to the Chateau before being reconstructed in their final location in the Chateau. There are over 30 of these painted panels in the house and gallery, although they are not all of the same quality as some of the smaller panels were fabricated in France in the style of the original Portugese tiles. 

The Chateau was an extraordinary place to visit and a project it will be interesting to follow in the coming years. 

So, that's my New to Me's this month now it is your turn to share your trips (successful or not) 0into the uncharted territory of new places or experiences in September. As always, the link party will remain open until the end of the month and please visit your fellow linkers to encourage them in their endeavours! I would love it if you mentioned the link party in your post too :)

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

By Request

Our son and his wife moved into a new flat recently, and on their first visit back home they had a couple of requests for their mum and her sewing machine!

First up, could I make one of those key holder things that I had made before for their brother?

Well, of course I could!

I upcycled some denim from an old pair of jeans (possibly belonging to the same son!) and some scraps of fabric. I quilted this with an Aurifil thread from a pack that I won in the December Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day.

I did think that the thread was a bit thicker than normal, but the variegation, no 4669 if you are interested, was perfect against the denim. Only later did I discover that 12wt Aurifil thread, which this was, is recommended for hand-sewing, oops! It still worked a treat though :)

The second request was more substantial. Apparently a draught of North wind proportions blows through their back door, so a draught excluder was called for.

Given the need, a quick make was also on the cards, so cutting into my cast-off denims again I came up with this for them.

The last draught excluder I made for our youngest son, when he was living in a draughty flat North of the Border, had embroidered fire-breathing dragons to ward away the cold. This time I decided to invoke a summer beach scene to chase away those cold North winds.

The beach huts are free-machine appliqued to the denim along with a yellow felt sun and, because we are in the North East of Britain, a couple of clouds for realism :)

Thankfully they are delighted with both of the makes and the draught excluder is doing sterling service already keeping their toes warm.

Isn't it nice when family have such faith in your abilities to deliver just what they need? If only all requests were so easily met :)

(Edited to add: you can find a tutorial for the draught excluder here )

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